In
Daniel
8
and on through the following chapters, we find a detailed unfolding
of events helping to complete the great outline of Chapter
2.

It
is interesting to notice that the Book of Daniel was written in two
different languages: Aramaic and Hebrew. All of chapter
1
and the first
three verses of chapter 2
are written in the Hebrew tongue. Then a new section begins and from
chapter 2:4
on to chapter
8, Aramaic,
the popular language of that day in Babylon, is used. From chapter
8 through chapter 12
the Hebrew tongue is employed again by Daniel.

This
in itself is a strong argument for the genuineness and inspiration
of the Book for had it been written by an impostor he would have used
Aramaic exclusively.

Let
us keep in mind that Daniel deals with two great truths:

First,
the history of God's covenant people, Israel;

Second,
the
"Times of the Gentiles"(The
Church Age)
when Israel is set aside and the Millennial Kingdom postponed.

In chapter
1,
we have the personal history of the four Hebrew men in the court of
the heathen Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar. Naturally, this is
written in the Hebrew language. But beginning with Daniel
2:4
and going through chapter
7,
we have a series of dreams, visions, and revelations that came to
Nebuchadnezzar and were interpreted by Daniel, and which deal with
the history of the nations. This portion is naturally written
in the popular language of the day. Then from chapter
8 to
the end of the Book we have the history of Daniel's people, the
Jews, particularly in the end time of the Great Tribulation.
These last five chapters are again written in Hebrew.

Daniel,
in his vision of chapter
8,
saw a ram with two long horns. "And
the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the
higher came up last"(verse
3).
He then saw the ram charging off in all directions. No other
beast was able to stand before him, and there was no one who could
rescue from his power.

"I
saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that
no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could
deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became
great" (verse
4).
After some time, Daniel saw a "he-goat"
that "had
a notable"(conspicuous)"horn
between his eyes"
coming from the west across the face of the whole earth, without
touching the ground (verse
5).

Approaching
the ram, the goat ran at him in his mighty wrath and struck the ram
and broke his two horns; and the ram had no power to stand before
him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled upon him; and
there was no one who could rescue the ram from his power.
Therewith the ram disappeared from the scene. When the he -
goat became strong, his "great
horn"
was broken, and instead of it there came up four conspicuous horns
toward the four winds of heaven. Read
verses 6 - 8.

In
explaining the vision to Daniel, the angel Gabriel told him that the
ram with its two horns represented Media and Persia and the he - goat
represented Greece. The Medes were strong at first, but Persia
eventually became the dominant force within the empire. The
directions in which the ram charged - - north,
west, and south - - are the very directions which
the Persian conquests took, their main thrust being westward.

Let
us keep in mind that Daniel saw these historic events before they
took place. Here is history pre - written, for all these
visions were revealed when the Babylonian empire was still
flourishing. No wonder higher critics and kindred infidels have
tried to attack the authority of Daniel and have invented their own
clever theories to show that Daniel was written after the Medo -
Persian empire had come into existence. If they spent their
time getting rid of sin and Satan instead of trying to get rid of the
Scripture there would be fewer devils and more Daniels in the world.

After
Persia came the Greeks under Alexander the Great, the "conspicuous
horn"
whom Gabriel specifically declared to be their "first
king".
Daniel saw the great horn "broken"
almost as soon as the goat became "strong"
and history tells us that Alexander died soon after his conquests
were completed. Like the four heads of the leopard beast of Daniel
7,
the four horns which then arose toward the four points of the compass
represent the divisions of Alexander's empire.

2.
A He-Goat, specifically identified by the angel as Greece- Verses
5-8, 21

3.
The he-goat's Four Horns, specifically identified by the angel as the
divisions of the Greek empire- Verses
8, 22

Babylon
is absent from the vision of Daniel
8 because
the Babylonian Empire was soon to disappear from the stage of world
history. Although the symbols of chapter
8
are different from those of chapter
7,
they speak of the same events. The ram and he - goat of the
one are counterparts of the bear and leopard in the other. In chapter
7,
for example, the bear was raised up on one side, (verse
5), whereas
in chapter
8:3
the higher of the two horns on the ram came up last. Also the
four heads of the leopard correspond exactly with the four horns of
the he - goat.

Now
let us see some of the main prophetic teachings of chapter
8.

Verse
9
speaks of Jerusalem as "the
pleasant land."
The different names given to the land of Palestine are:

The
phrases "the
latter time"
and "the
time of the end"
and "in
the last end of the indignation"
appear several times in these latter chapters of Daniel. They
describe the same period of time discussed in the 7th
chapter,"a
time and times and the dividing of time"
which is three years and a half, the prophetic 1260 days or 42 months
in the Book of Revelation. It is the Great Tribulation with
which the times of the Gentiles close. This Great Tribulation
is the "time
of Jacob's trouble"
as mentioned in Jeremiah
30:7.

Our
Lord in Matthew
24
calls attention to the Prophet Daniel and immediately after He said, "For
then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning
of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be."
Jerusalem, which has been the TRUTH
CENTRE
since the time of Christ, will be the GREAT
STORM CENTRE
of that predicted Tribulation, the Great One. Jerusalem will be
the PEACE
CENTRE
during the Millennial reign of Christ and the HOME
CENTRE to
all Israel throughout the ages to come.

Notice
the words in Daniel
8:19, "The
last end of the indignation."
Daniel speaks of the "indignation"
and "the
last end of the indignation." The "indignation"
refers to God's punishment of His people, Israel, because of their
continued disobedience. it sets forth the tribulation through
which Israel and Judah would be pruned, purged and purified otherwise
perish in their sin. Such indignation began in the days of
Nebuchadnezzar, was continued by Antiochus Epiphanes the Syrian, and
later by Titus the Roman who in A.D. 70 murdered and massacred the
people of God and scattered them to the four corners of the earth.

The
indignation continues until today and shall continue until the end
of this present age of Grace or the Church age. After the
coming of Christ and the rapture of the Church the indignation will
break out with added fury for seven long years of suffering and
death. Antichrist of course will arise as typified here by
Antiochus. The "last
end of the indignation"
began with Antiochus, and is yet to increase in momentum until it
reaches its consummation in the Great Tribulation Period under Antichrist.

The
"king
of fierce countenance"
of Daniel
8:23
is another picture of Antichrist. The condition of the heart is
often seen on the countenance. Antiochus Epiphanes, the Syrian
ruler, was to be an impudent, insolent, vicious king. Fearing
neither God nor man he was to be Satan's masterpiece of iniquity
before the coming Antichrist of whom he was a striking shadow.

Chapter
8:24
tells us that this Syrian madman Antiochus
"shall destroy...the holy people".
Because of their transgressions God's people had been given into the
hands of Pharaoh who oppressed them 400 years. Despite the
miracle deliverance wrought for them in Egypt and at the Red Sea they
still rebelled against God and they were oppressed again. Over
and over they were delivered by such leaders as Othniel, Shamgar,
Deborah, Gideon, Samson, and David, and yet they continued to
rebel. The indignation, started by Nebuchadnezzar, was
continued by the Syrian king, who wasted the holy land and ruthlessly
murdered the holy people.

The
future mad-man of history, Antichrist, will be revealed after the
rapture, and will be after the working of Satan with all power and
lying wonders and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness (2
Thess. 2:9-10).
But just as the hand of God was against the Syrian king, so the hand
of God will be against Antichrist. Antichrist shall destroy
many of God's holy people in the Great Tribulation, then God will
destroy him, and cast him into the lake of fire.

2.
Daniel's Seventy Weeks

"Seventy
weeks are determined" (decreed)
"upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the
transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation
for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal
up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know
therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the
commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the
Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the
street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous
times. And after (the)
threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for Himself"
(and shall have nothing):
"and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the
city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood,
and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall
confirm the covenant with many for one week; and in he midst of the
seek he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for
the over spreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even
until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate"(Daniel
9:24-27).

There
are many today who make light of prophecy and tell us that in
teaching prophecy we are but riding a hobby horse. The fact of
the matter is that the Bible is a prophetic book and it is difficult
to understand why people can be satisfied to sit under so - called
Bible teachers who have little or nothing to say about the great
prophetic truths of the Word of God.

The
Lord Jesus Christ was a prophetic Teacher. It is impossible to
understand His prophetic discourse in Matthew
24:15-22 and Mark 13:14-20,
apart from a knowledge of Daniel's seventy weeks. You will
remember Jesus said in Mark
13:14,"But
when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel
the prophet, standing where it ought not (let him that readeth
understand), then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains."(Read
also Matthew 24:15-16).
How is it possible to understand prophecy if we do not study to
understand it?

Let
us notice that the Lord Jesus refers to "Daniel
the prophet."
This simply means that the Book of Daniel is a prophetic book; yet
how little teaching we hear today on these important matters.

Daniel
9
teaches us that Daniel himself was a student of prophecy.
Though he was a busy man, he had time to study the prophetic
Scriptures. Daniel was not discouraged by the Neo -
evangelicals of his day nor was he disturbed by date - setters.
He believed in the prophets and in the study of prophecy. Those
who are labelled as specialists of prophecy or are looked down upon
by the intelligent pulpiteers of our day, are in glorious company,
for Daniel was a student of prophecy.

The
prophecy of the Seventy Weeks was given to Daniel after he made a
study of other prophecies. "In
the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number
of years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet,
that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem"(Daniel
9:2).

Daniel
and his people had been carried away captive into the land of
Babylon. As Daniel studied Jeremiah
25:11 and 29:5-10
he found out that these "desolations"
were to last for a period of seventy years. Thanks to Daniel's
prophetic study much of what was difficult to understand is now made
plain. According to "the
books"
the period of divine judgement is drawing to a close. In Jeremiah
29:10
the Lord said that "After
seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I WILL VISIT YOU."
Here was a wonderful prophetic promise from the Lord which Daniel
saw as nearing the time of fulfilment.

Then
in
Daniel 9:3-19 we
have the earnest prayer of Daniel as he poured out his soul unto God
to find out God's plan for Israel. Ezra
9, Nehemiah 9, and Daniel 9
are important prayer chapters as God's servants are found upon their
knees before God. Daniel's prayer is a model of confession,
supplication, and intercession.

But
the prayer was never finished. Notice verse
21,
"Yea,
whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had
seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly,
touched me about the time of the evening oblation."
This was about three o'clock in the afternoon. It was the same
hour that Abel offered his lamb. It was the same hour that the
passover lamb was slain. Yes, and at three o'clock Christ, the
Lamb of God, bowed His head and died. It was the time of the
evening oblation.

Verse
23,
"At the beginning of they supplications the commandment came
forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved:
therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision."
So it was the angel Gabriel and not Daniel who first uttered the
great prophecy of the Seventy Weeks.

In Daniel
8:27 the
prophet was disappointed that "none
understood"
but now Gabriel gives him full assurance that he could "understand
the matter"
(verse 23).
In verses
24-27
we have the prophecy of the Seventy Weeks.

There
are several facts that should be noticed in relation to this prophecy:

1.
This prophecy has to do with "thy
people"
which is Israel and "thy
holy city"
which is Jerusalem (verse
24).

2.
The seventy weeks are determined or decreed. The word "decreed"
carries with it the connotation of "cutting
off"
from a larger portion. Thus the seventy weeks are a fixed
period of time, forming part of a longer period which is not
definitely set forth. This longer period from which the seventy weeks
are "cut
off"
is the whole Gentile dominion or "times
of the Gentiles."
This Gentile period is clearly presented in Nebuchadnezzar's vision
of Chapter
2;
in Daniels' vision of four beasts in Chapter
7;
and also in the visions of Chapters
8 and 11.

3.
The seventy weeks are decreed specifically for six main reasons in
relation to Israel. The first three deal with the removal of
sin and the last three speak of the righteous results of doing way
with sin.

(a)
"To finish the transgression."
This refers to Israel's transgression of turning away from God, and
in particular, to their rejection of Christ as their Messiah.

(b)
"and
to make an end of sins."
Literally this means to
"seal up"
the deliberate wickedness of Israel. Ezekiel
expresses it in 37:23, "Neither
shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with
their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions."

(c)
"and
to make reconciliation for iniquity."
This is God's provision for the guilty nation during this period
referred to in the prophecy. It is not for our age for now "there
is no respect of persons with God"(Romans
2:11).
Paul refers to this time in Romans
11:26-27,
"There
shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away
ungodliness from Jacob; For this is my covenant unto them, when I
shall take away their sins."

(d)
"and
to bring in everlasting righteousness."
Now God begins to bring Israel to the place of blessing with a new
covenant so often promised in the Old Testament. Read Jer.
31:31-34
for example.

(e)
"and
to seal up the vision and prophecy."
Actually the prophets were brought on the scene by God because of
the perverseness of God's people. The prophets were there
because of the people's disobedience. But with "everlasting
righteousness"
brought in, such prophets will no longer be necessary.

(f)
"and
to anoint the most Holy."
Literally this means "to
anoint a most holy place."
In the Millennium period the Temple will again be the centre of
worship with Christ the King before them.

4.
Let us notice that there are two different princes mentioned.
The first is named "Messiah
the Prince" (verse
25);
and the second "the
prince that shall come" (verse
26).
We shall enlarge on these two princes in future studies.

5.
The time period referred to is exactly Seventy Weeks (verse
24).
These Seventy Weeks are divided into three periods: First, a
period of seven weeks; then a period of three - score and two weeks;
and finally, a period of one week (verses
25-27).

3.
The Sixty-Nine Weeks

In
the prophecy of the Seventy Weeks of Daniel
9:24-27
we find that the 69 weeks are first mentioned in verse
25,
"Know
therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the
commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the
Prince shall be seven weeks, and three score and two weeks."

The
word "weeks"
in the Hebrew means "a
seven"
so we can better translate this as "69
sevens"
or 483 periods of time or a time of some length.

The
Jews used the word "seven"
for years as well as days. There is therefore in the Old Testament a "seven"
of years as well as a "seven"
of
days. First, let us notice Leviticus
25:3-4 "Six
years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy
vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof. But in the seventh
year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the
Lord: thou shalt neither sow thy field, not prune thy vineyard."
Here we have the seventh as a year of sabbath for the land.

In Leviticus
25:8-9
we read, "And
thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times
seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be
unto thee forty and nine years. Then shalt thou cause the
trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh
month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound
throughout all your land."
Here again the Jewish people thought of "sevens"
in relation to years rather than days.

There
are several reasons for believing that the "sevens"
of Daniel's prophecy refer to "sevens
of years"
rather than days:

1.
In Daniel
9:2 we
find Daniel thinking of years rather than days, "In
the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number
of the YEARS, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the
prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem."

2.
Daniel knew that the length of the Babylonian captivity, 70 years,
had been based on Jewish violation of the divine law of the Sabbatic
year. We read of this in 2
Chronicles 36:21, "To
fulfil the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land
had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she
kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years."
God would allow His people to remain in captivity until the land had
enjoyed her sabbath again. Daniel is therefore thinking in
terms of years.

3.
In Daniel
10:2-3
we read, "In
those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. I ate no
pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did
I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled."

The
Hebrew here is different than the word "weeks"
as used in Daniel
9.
The expression here in Daniel
10:2
says, "In
those days I Daniel was mourning three sevens of days."
If Daniel meant the "sevens"
of Daniel
9
to mean "sevens
of days"
he would certainly have used the same Hebrew expression as Daniel
10.
If he meant "sevens
of weeks"
in Daniel
10
he would not have used the expression which he did, namely, "sevens
of days".

It
is certainly clear by every rule of interpretation that the "weeks"
of Daniel
9 means
"weeks of years"
so we have 490 years to consider in the Seventy Weeks or 483 years to
consider in the 69 weeks.

The
next question we must answer is this: How long is a year?
Our year as we know it is 365 days, or more accurately, about 365
1/4 days. How long was the Jewish year?

Let
us turn to Genesis
7:11, "In
the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the
seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of
the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened."
The flood began on the 17th day of the 2nd month.

In Genesis
8:4
we read, "And
the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the
month, upon the mountains of Ararat."
The flood came to an end on the 17th day of the 7th month.
This means that from the 2nd month to the 7th month we have five
months. In Genesis
7:24 and 8:3
we are told that the length of the flood was 150 days.
Therefore the length of the month is 30 days so that 12 months would
give us 360 days. This is the length of the Jewish year for our
present considerations.

The
next question is: When did the 69 Weeks begin? Notice again Daniel
9:25,
"Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the
commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the
Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks..."

When
did the commandment go forth to rebuild the city of Jerusalem?
Not as recorded in Ezra for that deals primarily with the rebuilding
of the Temple. The only other place to find this commandment i
sin Nehemiah who under God went forth to rebuild the city.

In Nehemiah
2:1
we read, "And
it came to pass in the month of Nisan, the in twentieth year of
Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up
the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been before time
sad in his presence."
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Artaxerxes came to the
throne in 465 B.C. The twentieth year of Artaxerxes would be
445 B.C.

The
Davis Dictionary of the Bible shows that the month Nisan is also
called Abib and is mentioned in Exodus
23:15.
It corresponds to the time of the Passover and is regarded as being
April 14, which here would be April 14, 445 B.D. This is the
beginning of the 69 Weeks.

The
last question we consider is this: "When
do the 69 Weeks end?"
The total number of days in the 69 Weeks consists of 69x7x360 or
173,880 days. Beginning with April 14th, 445 B.C., the 69 Weeks
would bring us to about 32 A.D. This as the time when Jesus
entered Jerusalem on the young donkey (Ass).

Let
us now turn to Luke
19:28-44
to study this important passage. Let us notice that this entire
passage is prophetical in its fulfilment. John's Gospel tells
us in John
12:14,
"And
Jesus, when He had found a young donkey (Ass), sat thereon, 'AS IT
IS WRITTEN'."

The
obtaining of the colt as recorded in verse
30
is the literal fulfilment of Zechariah
9:9,
"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of
Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just,
and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an donkey (Ass), and
upon a colt the foal of a donkey (Ass)."(Read
verse 30 and entire passage.)

Again
when they cried unto Him: "Blessed
be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in
heaven, and glory in the highest"
(verse 38).
This is taken from the prophetic passage of Psalm
118:22-26.

Notice
verses
39-40, "And
some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto Him,
Master, rebuke thy disciples. And He answered and said unto them, I
tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would
immediately cry out."
Why? Time and again Jesus did not want these things to be revealed
publicly. Here we have something happening that has never
happened before that can be seen only in the light of prophetic vision.

Verse
41-42,"And
when He was come near, He beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying,
If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this THY DAY, the things
which belong unto thy peace! but now are they hid from thine eyes."

What
day does Jesus refer to? He is referring to Daniel's 173,880th
day. This is the end of Daniel's 69th Week of prophecy.

What
"things"
belong to their peace? He is speaking now to the nation of
Israel. These "things"
are the blessings promised Israel in Daniel
9:24,"Seventy
weeks are determined" (decreed) "upon thy people and upon
thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of
sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in
everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy,
and to anoint the most Holy."

4.
The Time Period Between the Sixty - Ninth and Seventieth Week

In
our previous studies on Daniel's prophecy of the Seventh Weeks the
following facts were presented:

The
"weeks"
of the prophecy are weeks of years not days. The length of time for
these prophetic years is 360 days per year. The sixty - nine weeks
began with the "commandment" to rebuild Jerusalem, which
was issued by Artaxerxes on April 14 (some
say March 14),
445 B.C. (Neh.
2:1 - 8).

The
sixty - nine weeks came to an end with the appearance of Messiah as
the "Prince"
of Israel, 483 years later, when our Lord Jesus Christ rode into
Jerusalem in April, 32 A.D. Messiah came riding on the "foal
of an ass (Donkey)"
in fulfilment of the well - known prophecy of Zechariah
9:9.

Before
studying the Seventieth Week it is important to consider the time
element between the two periods of the 69th Week and the 70th
Week. There are Bible teachers who do not believe there is a
gap between these two periods. This means that the 70th Week is
finished already, having come to an end somewhere in the Book of
Acts. According to this teaching the prophecy of Daniel's
Seventy Weeks has nothing to do with the prophecy of the last days.

We
believe, however, that the 70th Week does not immediately follow the
69th Week. Indeed there is a great period of time between these
two that has already lasted for nearly two thousand years. The
70th Week is yet to be fulfilled in the future.

Why
do we believe this?

1.
A careful reading of Daniel's prophecy in Daniel
9:24-27
indicates a period of time between the 69th Week and the 70th
Week. In verse
24 we
have the 70 Weeks decreed. In
verse 25
we have a period of 69 Weeks presented and ending with a definite
historical event, the appearance of Messiah the Prince.

Notice
verse
26,
"And
after THE"(omitted
in the King James Version but found in the Hebrew)"threescore
and two weeks"
come two important events:

(1)
the death of Messiah, and(2)
the destruction of the city.

Then,
after these two events, comes the final ONE
WEEKin
verse 27.
Certainly there is a period of time between the 69th and the 70th
Weeks in this prophecy.

2.
The events mentioned in verse
24
which constitute the time element between the 69th and 70th Weeks
have not yet been fulfilled - "to
finish the transgression", "to make an end of sins",
"to make reconciliation for iniquity", "to bring in
everlasting righteousness", "to seal up the vision and prophecy",
and "to
anoint the most Holy"(place).
Let us remember that these events have to do with the JEWISH
people and they are included within the scope of the prophecy of
Seventy Weeks.

If
the Seventy Weeks are continuous, then they must have ended in the
Book of Acts. But there is nothing in the Acts to indicate that
these events have taken place.

For
example, where can you find the Jewish transgression coming to an
end? Or where is the end of the Jewish sins as a nation?
The Acts of the Apostles point out that the transgression of the
Jewish nation increases from chapter to chapter until the 28th
chapter
when Paul turns to the Gentiles. Notice Acts
28:28,"Be
it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto
the Gentiles, and that they will hear it."

Again,
where can you find in the Acts of the Apostles the sealing up of "the
vision and prophecy"!
As a matter of fact, there is much of prophecy presented in the Acts
and in the following epistles. But at the revelation of Christ
which takes place at the close of the Seventieth Week, vision and
prophecy will no longer be needed.

3.
A careful study of Old Testament prophecy often presents such a gap
in prophetic time. Let us turn to Isaiah
9:6,"For
unto us a child is born...and the government shall be upon his shoulder."
We all rejoice in the fulfilment of this prophecy of the birth of
the Lord Jesus Christ. This has been literally fulfilled.
But we must surely agree that the next part has not yet been
fulfilled. "And
the government shall be upon his shoulder."
This means that there is a gap in prophetic time between the first
part of the prophecy and the second part, and this gap has now
extended to nearly tow thousand years.

Notice
Isaiah
61:1-2,"The
spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me
to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the
brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening
of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year
of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God."

Our
Lord, in Luke
4:16-21,
had a special interest in this prophecy concerning Himself. He
read it as far as the words: "To
preach the acceptable year of the Lord."
He then closed the book and said, "This
day is THIS Scripture fulfilled in your ears."
Why did He stop here in the middle of a sentence? The answer
is that
"the day of vengeance of our God"
was not to be fulfilled for over nineteen hundred years and is still
future. Our Lord Himself revealed the fact that within Old
Testament prophecies there are often gaps of prophetic time.

In
the light of such prophetic passages we are not surprised therefore
to find a gap of time in Daniel's important prophecy of Seventy Weeks.

4.
The testimony of our Lord shows that the Seventieth Week is still
future. Let us notice the expression in
Daniel 9:27(Lit.),"Upon
the wing or pinnacle of abominations shall come one that maketh desolate."
The same general expression is found in Daniel
12:11,
"...the
abomination that maketh desolate."
Now read carefully the whole 27th
verse,
"And he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week:
and for the half of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the
oblation" (meal
offering)
"to cease; and upon the wing of abomination shall come one that
maketh desolate."

Here
we have a picture of the Antichrist making an agreement and a
covenant with Israel as a nation. This will last seven years
which corresponds to the Tribulation Period. In the midst of
the period he will set up the abomination of desolation which is the
image of Rev.
13 before
whom all must bow in worship.

In
Matthew 24:15 Jesus
refers to this same period, "When
ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by
Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place."
The reason for this warning is given in verse
21,"For
THEN shall be great tribulation."
But in verses
29-30
He sounds forth some encouragement for them, "IMMEDIATELY
after the tribulation of those days...they shall see the Son of man
coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."

It
therefore becomes clear that the "abomination
of desolation"
will come in at the end of the seventieth week, before the Lord's
second coming in glory. The Seventieth Week is still in the
future according to the plain teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ.
There must therefore be a gap of time (The
Church Age-The Age of Grace)
between the 69th and 70th Week of Daniels' prophecy.

The
time gap represents the church age in which we live today. The
church which is a new creation by our Lord was unknown in the Old
Testament Scriptures and it became Paul's primary ministry to reveal
this "mystery"
to us through his epistles. The hope of the church is the
coming of our Lord and until He returns the final stage of Daniels'
prophecy cannot be fulfilled.